viernes, 6 de junio de 2008

Euro 2008 interest - Manchester United

Current players: A relatively small number of Manchester United players will be in action at Euro 2008 this summer, something that will no doubt please Sir Alex Ferguson as he plots the way to more glory for the Reds.

Even better for Fergie of course is the fact that it is England's failure to reach the final stages of the tournament that means Rio Ferdinand, Owen Hargreaves and Wayne Rooney among others will get a decent summer break.

Christiano Ronaldo will be there and is expected to be the star of the show as Portugal look to go one better than in their homeland four years ago.

"There is no doubt that Ronaldo is in great form but I cannot guarantee he will be in the same form as he's been at Manchester United," said coach Luiz Felipe Scolari, who has also named Nani in his squad for Austria and Switzerland.

Patrice Evra has been named in France's provisonal 30-man squad for the competition while Edwin Van der Sar of Holland will bow out of international football after the tournament.

Evra is keeping his focus on the upcoming games despite the temptation to celebrate following United's Champions League victory.

"It was good, I didn't really party a lot because after tomorrow I need to go with the national team," he said. "I don't drink alcohol anyway."

Tomasz Kuszczak, deputy to Van der Sar for the majority of the season at Old Trafford, willl perform a similar role to Celtic's Artur Boruc during the tournament.

Former stars: Henrik Larsson will enjoy yet another swansong to his seemingly endless career after coming out of international retirement for a second time.

"When I last retired, I didn't think I'd be playing this long and that it would go this well," he said after being named in the Sweden squad.

The Holland party meanwhile contains Ruud van Nistelrooy, now back in the international fold after patching up his differences with manager Marco Van Basten

Transfer targets? Reported United targets Joao Moutinho and Miguel Veloso of Sporting Lisbon are part of the Portugal squad while a potential star of the tournament, Karim Benzema of Lyon and France is a player long linked with a move to Old Trafford.

That description applies also to Klaas-Jan Huntelaar of Ajax and Holland, for whom a big Euro 2008 will equal a big money move in time for next season.